Supporting Local People

Think Before You Give

Giving money to people who beg in Leamington may actually keep them on the street. Giving them money directly can help them to buy drugs and alcohol.

Instead, customers residents and workers in Leamington are being urged to give responsibly when faced with people who are begging in the local area. The Salvation Army, Warwick District Council, Helping Hands, The Big Issue, BID Leamington, Royal Priors Shopping Centre and Warwickshire Police have launched the ‘Think Before You Give’ campaign, which highlights the benefits of supporting local homelessness initiatives rather than giving directly to people begging on the streets.

It is hoped the campaign will help to support a positive change in the community and help to eliminate begging from the area and also remind the public that it is more beneficial to donate money to charities than individuals. Donations to the campaign will be donated to The Salvation Army Way Ahead Project – a charity working actively in Royal Leamington Spa to support homeless people and help them re-build their lives.

The Way Ahead Project

We provide drop in, advice and activities for over 100 people each month who are homeless, or struggling with alcohol, drug use or their mental health. We’re here to support people to turn their lives around.

We offer food, clothing, Shower and Laundry facilities but just as importantly somewhere people can find company, housing and benefits advice, referrals to supported housing and a range of activities from small group cooking to IT and art.

We encourage people to get involved in running the project and support people into voluntary and paid work.

We’re not here to provide a sticking plaster for homelessness, but to help people turn their lives around and create a positive community where people can reach their full potential.

You can keep up-to-date with the project by Liking ‘Leamington Spa Way Ahead Project’ on Facebook or going to the website.

Some Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Should I give money to people begging on the street?

A: No. But please don’t ignore them either! Much better to stop and have a conversation or even just say hello or nod than pretend that they’re invisible. If you’ve got a bit of time and want to then buy someone a cup of tea or something to eat. If someone tells you a long complicated story about why they need a quid they’re probably not telling the truth! And if you give them money once, chances are they’ll ask you again.

However, if you’re concerned about someone please ask for their first name and come and speak to us and, bearing in mind issues of confidentiality we’ll see if we can advise about the best thing to do.

Q: Do people have to pay upfront to stay in a hostel or shelter?

A: No. Most hostel rents are covered almost entirely by Housing Benefit, although most places require a small weekly amount (normally less than £10) to cover service such as heating. Hostels and other supported accommodation are very flexible in arranging these payments as long as people have at least got a claim in for benefits. The only exceptions to the above is if people are working, failed asylum seekers or people from Europe who haven’t done a year’s work ‘on the books’. Even then all shelters are free to access.

A: Most people start taking drugs or drinking to escape from a problem or something in their past. When people manage to break the physical addiction of taking drugs / drinking they then have to face the problem that they were originally escaping from. This means that people frequently relapse and sometimes have to go round and round before sorting themselves out. Falling back into old social networks is another key reason why people don’t change.

Having said this one of our values is that ‘people should take responsibility for their actions’. Drug and alcohol misuse might explain why something has happened, but it doesn’t excuse it. Challenging people and helping people to take responsibility for their actions can be empowering as they realise that they can take control of their lives.

Q: Doesn’t giving people food mean that they have more to spend on booze and drugs?

A: No, if you’re an addict your first priority is getting your fix and if that means not eating then so be it. We see meeting people’s basic physical needs as a way of engaging them and allowing us to build trusting relationships with them, so that when they’re ready to sort themselves out they know who to turn to.

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LEAM FACT

Following the Festival of Britain in 1951 Leamington held festivals of illuminations and concerts in Jephson Gardens. However, after complaints of loud music and voices, they were stopped in 1961.

The very first lawn tennis club in England was formed in Leamington in 1872 at the Manor House Hotel.

At the corner of the main walk by the Jephson memorial is a fountain to commemorate the members of the Free Czech expedition who set out from Leamington in 1942 to execute the SS governor of Czechoslovakia.

A slipway to the River Leam was used by local circus people to wash their animals, including elephants! The Elephant Wash slipway is still there today.

An eleven year old Princess Victoria spent her first overnight stay in a public building in Leamington.

Number 6, Clarendon Square was once home to Prince Louis Napolean who became Napolean III.

Frank Whittle (inventor of the jet engine) learned most of his engineering at his father's workshop, the Leamington Valve and Piston-Ring Co, at Clinton Street in Leamington.

Leamington's spa waters were well known as being good for making bread and preserving meat but they were also believed to cure rabies!

John Betjeman once wrote a poem called 'Death in Leamington' which started with: "She died in the upstairs bedroom; By the light of the evening star; That shone through the plate glass window; From over Leamington Spa..."

Leamington was mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) but remained a small agricultural village until its spa fame in the late eighteenth century.

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